This invention relates to skin protective devices and, more particularly, to skin protective devices which can be positioned adjacent wounds, burns, cuts, sores or other sensitive areas of skin and serve as a protective shield or as a support for maintaining a bandage out of contact with a wound or sensitive skin area.
Small skin abrasions or other minor skin wounds usually are protected from clothing and other foreign objects by adhesive bandages or gauzes. This type of protection usually cannot be used effectively for many more serious skin wounds, such as severe abrasions, burns, surgical incisions, skin grafts and the like, particularly for larger size wounds. In addition to the potential problem of the bandage or gauze sticking to the open wound or scab, such wounds often require a free circulation of air for rapid healing as well as protection from foreign objects, such as clothing, bed linens, and the like.
Various devices have been developed for protecting skin wounds, particularly surgical wounds. However, such prior art devices usually are quite complicated, are not arranged so they can be conveniently sized for the particular wound or sensitive skin area involved, and/or do not have the capability of being conveniently conformed to the natural contour of the body in the area of the wound. Examples of prior art protective devices are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Sene 2,443,481 issued June 15, 1948; Perkins 3,304,938 issued Feb. 21, 1967; McCartney 3,976,066 issued Aug. 24, 1976; Horn 4,000,737 issued Jan. 4, 1977.